A sampling of local businesses and merchandise that are planned for the new airport concessions

Stone Brewing Co.

Pannikin Coffee and Tea

Saffron Thai

Phil’s BBQ

Bankers Hill Restaurant and Bar

Caffe Calabria

Jer’s Chocolates

Samantha Davimes jewelry

Warwick’s of La Jolla

Bay Books of Coronado

10News and KPBS

Merchandise from the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Comic-Con and Gaslamp Quarter stores will be sold in some of the gift shops.

Some of San Diego’s more well known eateries, breweries and shops, from Phil’s B.B.Q and Stone Brewing Company to the La Jolla bookseller, Warwick’s, will be showing up at Lindbergh Field within the next few years, thanks to action taken Thursday by the county’s airport board.

In a move to both broaden and localize the dining and shopping options, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s board of directors awarded nearly a dozen contracts for the operation of food and retail outlets in 53 pre- and post-security locations in Lindbergh Field’s three terminals.

While national chains will still have a presence, airport officials emphasized that they were trying to bring more of a local flavor to the airport as a way of reminding travelers they’re in San Diego.

Culminating nearly three years of planning to overhaul the airport’s decades-long concessions operation, the board action sets in motion a plan to eventually have more than 80 new locations in place by mid-2014.

Rendering of what Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant will look like in the airport. — San Diego International Airport Saffron, a local Thai restaurant, will be among the local restaurants at Lindbergh Field. — San Diego International Airport

Merchandise representing local attractions like SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, Hall of Champions and even Comic-Con, will be sold in gift shops. Saffron Thai restaurant will have a dining spot in the airport, as will the Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant, and local coffee roasters like Pannikin Coffee and Tea and Caffe Calabria also will have spots in the airport’s terminals.

The existing contract with the airport’s current concessionaire, HMS Host, which has overseen all food and beverage and retail operations for about 40 years, will expire Nov. 30 of next year. Host was among the many joint ventures and partnerships that were awarded leases in a competitive bidding process that took into consideration not only their financial proposals but also their planned concepts and architectural design.

At the very minimum, the airport is guaranteed nearly $7 million in annual rent by the 2015 fiscal year. Those vying for leases, however, bid the minimum guarantees up by promising a percentage of their gross sales, although the Airport Authority was unwilling to provide the sales projections submitted by the individual bidders.

Each of the 10 contracts awarded Thursday covered bundled packages of preordained locations covering various types of food, beverage and retail concepts it wanted represented, from newsstands and gift shops to burger stands, Italian eateries and full-service restaurants.

Action on two of the contracts, one for two spa locations and another for a couple of coffee outlets, were postponed until next month because of protests filed by two of the bidders who were not recommended for approval.

Concerns were raised by one of the applicants, Nine Dragons, about the Airport Authority’s unwillingness to reveal the scores they were given by the panel of experts assembled to review the proposals.

Airport Authority board members said they were pleased with the outcome of the bidding process, although some argued for more transparency.

“We spent a lot of time designing a process that would be very fair, and I personally am pleased with what I see,” said Robert Gleason, board chairman. “I am disappointed ... about the scoring issue. Seeing the raw scores is helpful. It’s important for the integrity of the process to provide that information.”

Still to be decided are contracts for four proposed food and beverage contracts covering up to 26 locations at the airport. Because the Authority did not receive enough proposals, it reconfigured the packages and sought new bids, which will be reviewed at the board’s Sept. 1 meeting.

Among the groups awarded leases of anywhere from five to 10 years were Host, which plans to open a bar and grill that will feature images of signature holes from Torrey Pines Golf Course; the Bay Area firm, High Flying Foods, which will contract with Stone Brewing’s farm to stock some of its eateries with organic produce; and Paradies, which plans to have a 10News-branded shop where patrons will be able to tape themselves in a miniature broadcast booth.

Once the concessions overhaul is complete, the area occupied by shops and restaurants will grow from 60,000 square feet to 85,000 square feet, owing to the ongoing $1 billion redo and expansion of Terminal 2.

As part of the bidding process, the Airport Authority sought to ensure a smooth transition for the airport’s more than 400 unionized employees currently working for Host. Local labor officials, however, voiced concern that some of the successful bidders for retail locations were not as willing as others to go beyond the minimum requirements to ensure “labor harmony” once the new concessions open.

Following some prodding by San Diego City Councilman Tony Young, who sits on the airport board, several of the successful bidders said they planned to exceed what was required of them.

“It’s all subject to negotiation,” Lorena Gonzalez, head of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, said following the three-hour hearing. “Are we a little closer? Yes. Will workers be made whole? We’re not there yet.”